———Lord Fuli, this time you absolutely won't be able to escape!
Rita Rossweisse was utterly convinced of this.
The maid had calculated long ago that the kind-hearted, sunny, and cheerful big boy would come to Schicksal to visit her.
For this once-in-a-lifetime moment, she had given everything.
The seemingly ordinary hospital room had long been set up as a hunting ground where she waited for the hare to run into the tree stump.
Path of the Divine: A thousand winding, flowing rainbows of light. Seemingly weak, they possessed immense power. Touching the Critical Light alone would cause a temporary drop in combat power; a slightly slower reaction could even weaken one directly into an ordinary person.
Shadow Silencing the World: An invisible domain centered on a set point, forcibly suppressing all supernatural abilities deployed within it.
Demon-Warding Circle: Taoist magic, the Monkey King's signature trick. A circle glowing with faint golden light was drawn to prevent unauthorized entities from passing.
Eight Formation Barrier: High-level barrier magic, a copper wall and iron bastion extremely difficult to destroy from the inside.
Fusing science, technology, and Honkai arcane arts, she thoroughly cut off Fuli's last possibility of escape!
To prevent any accidents, Rita had even tempted Mushoku Kika with desserts beforehand, entrusting her to find a way to trip up her best friend, Durandal, who was guaranteed to spoil the fun.
The perfect and elegant maid would never allow any slips in such a situation!
The only pity was the location. Ultimately, this was an ordinary hospital room, not Bianka's bedroom which would have suited her intentions better.
She couldn't bathe with Fuli, nor could she fully release herself with him on Lord Durandal's bed.
However, these regrets could be made up for in the future. At this moment, the only thought in Sister Rita's mind was to eat the long-coveted delicacy first.
"Lord Fuli..."
Losing dog? Doesn't exist!
How can I lose with a Flying Dragon riding the face?!
Go!
"D-Don't come over!"
Facing the enchanting beauty pressing upon him, burned by the heat in her eyes, Little Li retreated in panic.
"What!?"
An invisible force field crushed him to the ground on the spot. He didn't even have time to distinguish how many different sources of formations were layered upon him.
In almost the blink of an eye, Fuli thoroughly degenerated from a super powerhouse who could easily suppress even regular Critical Grade entities into a roadside dog, his HP flickering like a candle in the wind.
Only then did the boy realize he had fallen into Sister Rita's trap.
His proud, invincible Golden Armor was enough to offset 90% of external interference, and the protection of the Stigmata of Death granted immunity to 80% of physical interference effects.
But the problem was, even if he was first weakened by nine-tenths, and then 80% of the remainder was exempted, the little bit left still bound him firmly like steel chains.
Motherf—! Sister Rita, just what did you do!
Gwah! Bianka, save me!
Pinned firmly to the floor, Fuli was just about to scream the Knight Princess's name when a touch of softness forcefully sealed the organ he relied upon to make sound.
"Mmph!"
It echoed clearly in the silent ward, like a pebble thrown into stagnant water, rippling layer upon layer between the cold white walls.
The two A-Rank Valkyries guarding outside were completely unaware of this; the soundproofing measures did a great job.
After a long time, Rita, having finished the appetizer, lifted her head slightly.
"Heh."
She chuckled softly, her slender hands undoing the buttons of his robe with clear intent, her purpose revealed for all to see.
The maid, believing victory was in her grasp, didn't know that even at this stage, Fuli actually still had the possibility of resistance.
The effect of the Stigmata of Death was always active; attacks had an extremely low probability of triggering Instant Death.
As long as he was ruthless enough and moved diligently, there would always be a chance to trigger Instant Death.
The question was, would he use this ability on a companion who fought alongside him?
The answer was obviously no.
His clenched fists finally relaxed weakly, and Fuli whispered a compromise: "At least remove the formation suppressing my physical fitness."
"Okay!"
Catching the deeper meaning in his words, Rita was overjoyed.
Snap!
With a crisp snap of her fingers, among the hundreds of restrictions, the few binding his physical strength dissipated quietly.
Fuli moved his now-free body and stood straight again.
Looking down at Rita from above, his eyes held a mix of tyrannical anger at being fooled and a violent storm hidden beneath calmness.
"Since you've gone this far, you should understand that you have nowhere to run, right?"
Yes! That's the look! That fierce look of intending to chew someone up and swallow them whole!
"Rita never intended to run, Lord Fuli..."
The maid couldn't contain her excitement, her white lotus-root-like arms wrapping around the boy's neck like a snake.
The situation looked ready to reignite, and even advance a billion steps further than before.
Clack!
The crisp sound of high heels hitting the floor rang out abruptly.
Several glittering golden energy chains shot out from the void, precisely binding Rita's limbs and suspending her in mid-air as her reaction was half a beat too slow.
"As a doctor, I really hate patients who don't follow medical advice."
A cold voice rang out in the ward, accompanied by oppressive footsteps.
"Eh?!"
Rita was stunned directly, her passionate wine-red eyes full of astonishment.
Fuli's breath caught; he recognized these as the chains of the Oath of Judah.
The problem was, the color was wrong.
Judah's chains were silver-white throughout. Essentially a variant of Soulium combined with the Power of Binding, they turned a dark color close to obsidian when transformed into chain spears. The only thing they wouldn't be was the gilded gold before his eyes.
However, he had seen a golden Judah before.
Not only seen, but used.
It was in the Seventh Heaven of the Virtual Space. He had borrowed the Oath of Judah mimicked by the Void Archives from his sworn brother.
Relying on the Stigmata of Reason, which allowed proficient use of all tools created by intelligent life, he deployed the Zeroth Rated Power of the Key of Binding, wiping out the Kaslana ancestor's remains guarding the Second Layer, Venus Heaven, in one breath.
In other words, in the real world, the only one who could do this was naturally the Overseer of Schicksal who held the true Void Archives—Otto Apocalypse.
Did that man come too?
His thoughts raced as he glanced at the newcomer.
"!!!"
The moment his gaze landed, his lips parted slightly, and he froze on the spot.
It was a breathtakingly beautiful, tall, blonde girl.
Hair as bright and beautiful as the sun draped naturally over her shoulders and back. The smooth strands spread out, while her bangs were neat and silky on her forehead. Her delicate face, beautiful to the point of being somewhat bewitching, was soul-capturing.
Seemingly due to a congenital constitution issue, the girl's small face was tainted with a sickly pallor, revealing a temperament as pitiable as a fragile narcissus.
She paced in front of Rita, whose mouth was gagged by chains. A trace of displeasure flitted across her expressionless face: "It seems the firm conviction during the Stigmata transplant surgery has made you eager for lust... Pity. Although you can move freely now, you are still some time away from complete recovery. Getting pregnant is an absolute prohibition."
As if responding to the girl's will, a mimicked golden chain tapped lightly but firmly on the back of Rita's neck.
I already took the pill, ahhhhh!!!
Sister Rita's unwilling scream in her heart ultimately couldn't exit her mouth before her vision went black, and she fainted with deep reluctance and regret.
After doing all this, the blonde girl finally turned to Fuli, explaining in a flat tone: "Forgive this guy. The transplant surgery for the Natural Stigmata: Fallen Rosemary is extremely dangerous. To allow Rita to withstand the dual torture of mind and body, I guided her to root a certain strong obsession in her heart and reinforce it repeatedly, thereby awakening the idealistic nature of Honkai energy to overcome the crisis."
"Uh, that obsession is?"
"Lust. As for who it's specifically directed at, I don't think I need to point it out." The girl's gaze swept over Fuli seemingly casually, the meaning self-evident. "Her crazy state just now was also related to the conviction established then. According to calculations, it will take at least thirty to fifty sessions of professional psychological counseling intervention for these symptoms to return to normal."
Fuli breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. No wonder Sister Rita was hyperactive to the point of near madness just now.
It was like sautéed pig intestines; if the smell was too faint, it wasn't right, but if the smell was too strong, it was even worse.
So it was a sequela brought about by intense psychological suggestion.
Thinking this, he picked up a sticky note from the table:
If the surgery unfortunately fails, please divide my ashes in two.
Please send half back to my parents to repay their grace and fulfill filial piety;
Please make the other half into a figurine identical to myself and place it by Lord Fuli's bedside to accompany his eternal sleep.
"W-What is this?!"
Fuli took two steps back, his pupils trembling violently.
"Oh, that is the suicide note Rita Rossweisse wrote before the surgery."
The blonde girl glanced at the note, her tone remaining calm.
As if confused: It's not like it's being made into a onahole, why are you panicking, Bro?
Establish conviction my ass! If you ask me, she's just a pure pervert!
The boy shouted loudly in his heart. He took a deep breath and refocused his gaze on the beautiful blonde girl before him, who gave him a strong sense of déjà vu and inexplicable familiarity.
Thoughts churning, he was just about to speak and probe.
But the girl parted her cherry lips first, her voice carrying a hint of elusive teasing: "Bro, did I come at a good time?"
"Of course, Bro, you came at the perfect ti—"
Fuli subconsciously continued in that familiar tone. However, when the word "Bro" slammed into his mind, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, and his breathing suddenly quickened.
Ella raised her exquisite eyebrows: "Third Brother, is the wine still there?"
The boy was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to take out the pot of Immortal Brew familiar to both of them from the system space.
"One-third left, not a sip touched."
He blinked his sore, hot eyes hard, clearing his blurry vision.
He took out two wine cups and filled them one by one.
Then, they linked arms for a toast.
"Cheers?"
Ella smiled.
"Cheers!"
This was the first time since she was summoned to the Proper World by Otto Apocalypse that she truly, unreservedly, revealed a smile.
The next day, the battle above the floating island continued.
Durandal and the Death Knight were inseparable in combat. Mushoku Kika performed extraordinarily well under the buff of desserts, and Eleanor attacked anyone she saw. Roars and strong winds echoed interwoven.
However, the minds of the two A-Rank Valkyries guarding Rita's hospital door were no longer on the battle. It wasn't that they didn't want to watch the fun, but that the boss of the Hyperion, that big boy named Fuli, had stayed in their Vice-Captain's room for a whole night.
A lone man and a lone woman, talented and beautiful, behind closed doors for a long night...
Connecting this with the various rumors buzzing within Schicksal, certain doki-doki speculations involuntarily swirled in their minds.
Just as the theater in their heads reached the climax, with a click, the door was pushed open from the inside.
Fuli walked out with brisk steps. He looked refreshed and radiant, his face carrying a trace of satisfied languor, his whole being exuding a relaxation unique to "Sage Time."
"Hard work, you two!"
He even raised his hand and very naturally patted the shoulders of the two Valkyries.
Then, humming an off-key tune, he strode away.
There was no need to mention the senses of A-Rank Valkyries. The moment the boy approached, a faint, imperceptible smell of alcohol drilled into their nostrils.
They blinked. Harboring a righteous mentality that had absolutely nothing to do with curiosity and was purely about caring for their Vice-Captain, they leaned close to the crack in the door, holding their breath to peek inside.
Clean.
Very clean.
The room was spotless, everything arranged meticulously.
Let alone traces of a "man vs. woman battle," they couldn't find even a sign of disorder. It was suspiciously clean, like a computer screen frozen on the default desktop wallpaper when a parent suddenly checks a child's room.
This was definitely cleaned up on purpose afterwards!
The two Valkyries exchanged a look that said, "As expected."
To be able to restore the scene to such order after the battle, as expected of our perfect and elegant Vice-Captain!
The two thought worshipfully, casting their gazes toward the heroine on the hospital bed.
Rita still lay there quietly, dressed neatly in a plain hospital gown, beautiful as Aphrodite incarnate.
The sharp-eyed Valkyries immediately caught something unusual:
Beneath that silky collar, several faint red marks were vaguely visible; on her slender ankles and wrists, a few clear ring-shaped imprints remained.
Why did those shapes look so much like she had been forcefully bound by something?
Could it be...
Just as they were blushing furiously, the sleeping Rita let out a blurred murmur:
"Mmph... won't... won't get pregnant... let go of me... Lord Fuli..."
This intermittent muttering was like the key testimony, perfectly connecting all the fragmented information in the guards' minds!
No more words were needed. The Valkyries met eyes again, nodded heavily, and carefully closed the door gap, as if guarding a shocking secret.
After retreating from the ward, their gazes involuntarily turned toward the golden figure still fighting fiercely and shedding dazzling light above the floating island.
A complex, indescribable emotion—a mix of shock, the thrill of confirmed gossip, and a deeper sympathy—quietly spread in the bottom of their hearts.
Lady Rita, the childhood friend and constant companion, actually developed to this stage with the boy the Captain fancies?!
Lord Durandal, please take care!
They stopped looking at the dazzling golden light in the sky that was faintly tinged with green, their hearts filled with a pity that said, "We all know, but we don't know how to say it."
Little did they know, the true winner was leisurely sitting at the highest point of the floating island.
The high-altitude gale blew through the girl's dazzling, liquid-gold long hair. Her suspended slender white feet swung casually as she looked down at the tiny buildings and ant-like moving figures below.
"Heh heh..."
A cheerful, triumphant hum escaped Ella's lips. Her exquisite, slightly sickly lips curled into a knowing smile.
The jade wine pot symbolizing the past between her and Fuli stood steadily by her side, refracting exceptionally bright light under the morning sun.